BBC America Greenlights Unscripted Series ‘Mud, Sweat and Gears’

BBC America has given the green light to the new vehicle transformation series “Mud, Sweat and Gears,” hosted by UK car journos Tom ‘Wookie’ Ford and Jonny Smith. The hour-long spot will be produced by BBC Worldwide Productions for BBC America and BBC Worldwide’s new Brit channel.

In each of the eight unscripted episodes, daredevils Ford and Smith both captain a team of two fellow car enthusiasts and are given 24 hours to mutate, supersize or reconstruct ordinary vehicles to compete in stunt challenges.

“Mud, Sweat and Gears” is set to join BBC America’s “Top Gear”-driven Monday night lineup and will follow the popular car series which, now in its 21st season, which is on target to be its highest rated in the U.S. The new series will be part of a slate of unscripted programming including “Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan,” “The Graham Norton Show” and “Million Dollar Critic.”

In addition to BBC America, “Mud, Sweat and Gears” will be launched across the BBC’s international channels. It is also the first commission to be announced for the new male-skewing factual entertainment channel BBC Brit, set to bow in markets outside of the U.S. this year.